The same, but different

One of the things we're told to do is learn to read other people's work as a writer.  We should analyse what we read, see how it's constructed, and work out what's successful and what doesn't work.

Sometimes this can spoil the enjoyment of what you're reading.  I was reminded of this recently when I read two SF alternate world books containing airships.  One was a young adult book, the other adult SF.  They were written several years apart, but the similarities between them were striking.

In both books the airship captain was an independent trader, outside the official government's control. And in both case the captains took advice from no-one, and flew where they chose.  Also in both books there was a romance, in both cases a royalty/commoner love affair.  In the YA book the girl was a princess, in the adult book the royalty was a prince.  Both were forbidden relationships.

Both novels were stories about all-powerful and very secretive biotech corporations.  And both were doing genetic enhancement of humans considered illegal in their worlds.  The story structures were also similar.  In both cases the Supreme Ordeal required the airships to rescue the main characters from certain death.  And in both cases, their captains got killed in those fights.

I read the YA book first, and when I  started reading the adult one I began predicting what would happen to each character, and I was right in every case.

This really illustrates the saying that publishers want 'the same, but different'.  At heart the two stories were identical, but set in different worlds with different details.  Seeing this reassures me about my own work.  The book I'm submitting to agents now has a quest structure, with a small band of characters slowly uncovering the truth. The book I'm editing now has the same structure. And what do you know?  I have a small band of characters going on an epic journey to uncover the truth.

They are very similar in form, and I worried that they weren't different enough.  But having now read these two, mainstream published, books that were 'the same, but different', I'm no longer so worried about that.

Besides, a certain amount of similarity is needed if we're to build a coherent author brand.  I must stop fretting about it and just send to damned novel out.